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PLAYSTATION FIESTA BOWL: PENN STATE VS WASHINGTON

December 27, 2017

Vita Vea II

Glendale, Arizona

Q. I'm sure your goal, though, when it was over last year was, we made it to the tournament this year; next year we're going to win it?
VITA VEA: Oh, yes, most definitely. It was so fun last year. All of that was unexpected. It was unexpected for us. We enjoyed it while it lasted. This whole offseason that was our motivation to get back there. We could have -- we had our chance. We slipped. We got (indiscernible) twice. Ended up shooting ourselves in the foot.

Q. So what's your motivation, you and your teammates, coming into here, coming into this bowl game?
VITA VEA: I'd have to say it was Alabama. Some people say we didn't -- we were missing Joe Mathis and Azeem Victor and some people say we could have had a better game with those two. You never know.

That was our main motivation to getting back there. We thought we played a good game for a little bit, but they ended up separating and beating us. And our motivation was just to get back and try to beat them. But we're here now and we're playing an even better team, Penn State.

Q. Your motivation here, this year, coming back knowing you're not in the tournament but at least you're in a pretty good bowl game, what's the mood of the team?
VITA VEA: This bowl game's amazing. I feel that doesn't matter anymore. We're in here playing Penn State and Saquon Barkley, the number one -- so they say the number one draft pick in 2018 NFL draft. So that's pretty cool to go against -- something to tell your kids: I played in the Fiesta Bowl, it's one of the biggest bowls in college football.

And we played against the number one draft pick in the NFL. He was a great running back, Hall of Fame in college, and then probably definitely be in there.

Q. They've already faced, when they played Ohio State they were the number one defense rushing. When they played Michigan State they were the number one -- it was Michigan against Michigan State. Now you're the number one defense. What's your sense of pride as a team being number one in the country against the rush?
VITA VEA: I didn't even know we were number one, to be honest with you. Doesn't feel like it. Offense beats up on us every day. That's probably why we're up there, taking a beating from Myles Gaskin and Lavon Coleman and Salvon. Salvon threw a couple of punches in there hurting us with the run game.

And I guess it feels good. Like I said, I had no awareness of this. I tip my hat off to the defense. Those guys, they've done a great job, these guys up here -- Tevis, Taylor, Bartlett, Burr-Kirven, they've all done a great job this year.

Without those guys, we probably wouldn't be the number one defense. And also the guys who aren't here, the rest of the "D" line and our DV unit. Also a great game, probably wouldn't have so much success without them. I feel like I don't work good without them. We work -- we're like a puzzle, a missing piece, we're not the same, I guess.

And I feel that's our defense, take one piece out, take one piece out of the puzzle and it goes back to the team aspect, sticking together as a team.

Q. I guess you get double teamed all the time. How does that help you guys. And does it frustrate you at all sometimes that you get all the attention?
VITA VEA: No, it's weird. I'd have to say as a "D" lineman, getting double teamed, triple-teamed, it seems kind of fun for me. You find ways to beat them and sometimes you don't beat them. It's like that competitiveness of trying to beat a double team.

You get beat one play and you're like, oh, man, I almost had them. I'm getting this play. (Indiscernible) get them again. You keep fighting to win and you keep trying to -- keep striving to win every play, it's just funny for me.

A lot of people ask questions and ask about the double team, how do you feel, do you hate them, do you like them? I say I really like them -- it's not like that. I'd prefer one-on-one (indiscernible). Over time you've gotten used to it.

It's just one of those things you don't mind anymore. It keeps happening over and over. And you get used to it. And it starts to become fun to you and you look at other "D" linemen on the line, they're getting doubled as well. So you look at each other. When you beat a double team and you look the other guy in the eye, you see them, you're like "I gotcha."

Q. Do you remember the last time you had a single blocker?
VITA VEA: Wazzu, they had a couple of single blocks, being they were passing -- I got a couple of one-on-ones. They also held the ball longer than everyone else. Everyone tends to lean over the quick pass.

Wazzu, they had a lot of single blockings, held the block four seconds when everyone else holds it for like one. That was good for us. First passes out there, seeing that single blocking going, and used to turning around and looking for the ball. But that was the point we're still working our pass rush and still on the ball. I think that was the last time, other than practice.

Q. That was as good as I've seen you. Is that as much fun as you've had on the field?
VITA VEA: That game was amazing, especially seeing all the fans and our support out there. They lit up our stadium with a lot of energy.

That was pretty cool. It was a different game. We played on Saturday and stuff, instead of Fridays, I guess that helped fan-wise. Their support was tremendous this year. So thank you to them.

Q. You mentioned Barkley being a top draft pick. But your teammate, Gaskin, has put up some real monster numbers. What do you like about Myles's game, and does it compare at all with Barkley's?
VITA VEA: Myles, he's a unique back. He's someone that you see him and you see his size. He doesn't wow you to open anyone's eyes when you see his size.

But when he's out there, he's playing, in my opinion he's one of the best. I feel like he should have been a Heisman candidate. I might be biased, my teammate, biased towards him.

He's a well-balanced back and hard to take him down, hard for me to take him down.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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